Gagged! is a bi-monthly newsletter produced by South Wales Anarchists, it's produced in paper, electronic and audio format. Somebody posted this copy on the forumer.com site a while ago, since then there have been more issues in pdf format - #16 ( March/April 07 ) #17 ( June/July 07 - ridiculed the election, "56% voted Nobody" ) #18 ( Aug/Sept 07 ) : all well worth a read, very active bunch of people.

I told them about including them here, and hopefully " gagged " will keep this topic thread up to date.

Star-bucking the consumer trend
Coffee Not Bombs hits Newport!!
Armed with only Zapatista coffee, soya milk, sugar, a
gas burner & a load of paper cups liberated from a
nearby tourist attraction, South Wales anarchists took
on the might of consumer capitalism in Newport town
centre on Saturday 16 December 2006.
Sporting bad hangovers & an interesting line in black
Santa hats (Bah Humbug! Save the Planet!), activists
distributed free coffee, leaflets & issues of Gagged!
to bemused passers-by, many of whom stopped for
gratefully-received cuppa & a chat.
The action, which took place outside a local outlet of
corporate coffee whores Starbucks, also featured live
music (thankfully drowning out the Salvation Army
Brass Band up the road), & a large group of moshing
youths.
Coffee, after oil, is the second largest export in the
world; with a turnover of about 10 billion dollars,
Its production employs 25 million people in the
southern hemisphere. While Starbucks enjoys record
profits, its coffee farmers can't even afford to
adequately feed their children on the 2-50¢/lb they
are paid for coffee that sells for at least $10/lb.
The Zapatistas are a revolutionary anti-corporate
social movement from Chiapas, Mexico, who are fighting
for the autonomy of the indigenous population as a
solution to their immense poverty. Their organic
coffees raises money directly for the autonomous
communities that produced it.
According to Credit Action, the total amount of UK
personal debt has exceeded £1 trillion. With
consumerism being used as a buy-off to stop us
whinging about unpopular neo-colonial wars fought in
our name, why not organise a Food/Coffee not Bombs
demo of your own?
All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity & culinary
nous. You can then bring the battle to your local high
street, engage with the community & introduce people
to a non-consumer take on their coffee break.
Check out: www.foodnotbombs.net

PIPELINE TO DISASTER
Resistance from local people & climate action groups
is continuing against the controversial gas pipeline
being carved across South Wales. The Liquid Natural
Gas (LNG) pipeline will run 115 miles from Milford
Haven to Gloucestershire carrying gas from the Middle
East. It is the highest pressure pipeline ever to have
been attempted in Europe. It’s builders, National Grid
(formerly TRANSCO) have publicly admitted they have no
experience of running a 48” pipeline at 94bar
pressure.
Many residents along the route of the pipeline feel
they haven’t been properly consulted, some feel
bullied & deceived, with some people having their
homes compulsorily purchased. There have been many
safety concerns as the pipe is being laid across the
only earthquake zone in Britain, parts of it on land
deemed too unstable for houses. The gas is odourless
so people wouldn’t know if there was a leak yet the
Health & Safety Executive have guaranteed that a hole
will appear in the pipeline within 30 years. In
Trebanos, near Swansea, the land was deemed too
unstable for mains gas to the village; now they’re
building Europe’s biggest gas pipeline! Milford Haven
campaign group Safe Haven has tried to challenge the
development through the courts, but couldn't even get
a decent hearing.
On 12th November activists set up camp on the route, a
60ft section of pipeline was occupied for over a week
halting all building work in the area. They explained:
“We’ve taken this direct action, in partnership with
local residents, to actively stop this project because
we believe that non-renewable energy belongs in the
past & we need to look to a future of renewable
sources or we’ll have no future at all!”. The protest
successfully got the Department of Trade & Industry to
revoke the permission to blast with explosives as
National Grid originally planned. However there is
still concern about avalanches, similar to those of
Aberfan & Panteg, as the pipe crosses old mine
workings.
On 16th November a protest site was started along a
section of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in the
shadow of the LNG terminals, cutting across the route
of connecting pipelines. National Grid hadn't bothered
to apply for the public accessway to be closed for
construction work so locals in the Milford Haven area,
inspired by the protest camp in Trebanos, took their
chance. Tracy Morris, a member of the Safe Haven
Network & local mother of three, planted a tent
directly across the footpath, & National Grid were
obliged to put a fence around it. The camp persists,
manned by a small but determined band of locals, some
of pensionable age. "Some people think we're crazy,
but I don't care anymore" says Tracy. "I'll fight them
to the bitter end."
Things just seem to be going from bad to worse for
National Grid. In November they received huge
condemnation after some of their 4x4 vehicles tore up
an untouched upland bog near Mynydd Myddfai in the
Brecon Beacons. The national park authority said “the
fragile nature of the area makes it almost impossible
to put right any damage” & went on to release a 67
page document condemning the pipeline & its “huge
environmental impact”.
Pressure against contractors continued with a
demonstration outside British Gas HQ in Cardiff.
Banners were held & leaflets distributed amongst the
workers. A British Gas spokesperson claimed they have
nothing to do with the pipeline. Funny that because
the project is the brain child of Centrica (who own
British Gas). British Gas jointly own Dragon LNG &
have a 50% stake in the company transporting the gas
to the Milford Haven.
On 8th January a new site was set up in Trebanos under
the cover of darkness at 4am whilst the security
slept! The site is on public footpaths leading into
the construction site off Glyn Meirch road, & is
blocking vehicles from gaining access.
Activists & locals have vowed to continue the fight
against the pipeline. We are being thrown head first
in to climate chaos & our governments are still
building infrastructure for non renewable fossil
fuels. What we need is renewable energy & we need it
now, not in 20 years!
The pipeline is already well over schedule & massively
over budget. We demand that this pipeline project is
scrapped.
People are urgently needed to help occupy the sites.
Get in contact for directions.
Milford Haven camp: Tracy Morris 07752698489 or Jim
Dunckley 07933082239
Trebanos camp: Site Phone 07733190958 or Rachel Evans
07790450747
or set up a protest camp along the route yourself!

ANOTHER DEATH IN CUSTODY
On 29th December a 58 year woman died in custody at
Swansea Central Police station. She (unnamed at this
time) was arrested for a driving offense. paramedics
were called but could not revive her. The cause of
death is unknown or how long she had been held. The
case is to be investigated by Independent Police
Complaints Commission. But just like the over 1,000
deaths in police custody it is unlikely anyone will be
held responsible. Only 3 police officers have been in
over 10 years.

Chanting Ban?!
In GAGGED 14 we brought you the news that the Met want
to bring in in new laws that ban the wearing of masks
at protests & to make the burning of flags a criminal
offense. Now they want to outlaw ‘offensive chants’.
Met Assistant Commissioner, Tarique Ghaffur wants
powers to proscribe protest chants & slogans on
placards, banners & headbands. The call comes as part
of a review of the powers to police protests prompted
by recent protests by Islamic extremists, but clearly
such powers could also be used against protesters such
as animal rights & anti-globalisation activists. The
civil rights group Liberty said the powers would make
the police "censors in chief".
Chuffer of the Met stated, “What we are seeing in
effect is a rise in the politicisation of middle
England”. Again the State seem to be taking the
approach of stifling public dissent rather than
tackling the issues that give rise to the
politicisation in the first place.
At the moment ‘causing offense’ is not against the
law. Who would be the judge of what would be classed
as causing offense? Clearly what offends one will not
necessarily offend another. Such proposed powers would
clash with article 10 of the European Convention on
Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression.
These new demands for curbs on the right to protest
come as the Lords rule that police had acted
unlawfully in detaining a bus full of Iraq war
protesters heading for a demonstration at RAF Fairford
in March 2003 & forcibly turning them back. Clearly
the police are unable to keep a lid on protest with
existing laws, so rather than being “Tough on the
causes of crime”, Tony Blair’s mantra from the 1997
election, they think it easier to invent new laws to
further erode civil liberty in this country.

STOCK TRANSFER
WHAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING US
Council tenants are being asked by Torfaen Council to
vote for stock transfer of our homes to a registered
social landlord (Bron Afon Community Housing). What we
are not being told is what other Council assets will
be transferred to Bron Afon Community Housing in the
process.
In a letter of reply to a Freedom of Information
request, Torfean Council stated that:
“no decision has been made about what other assets
would transfer. This is a decision that will be made
by negotiation between Bron Afon Community Housing and
Torfean County Borough Council after the tenants’
ballot, if tenants vote in favour of transfer.”
If stock transfer goes ahead we could see community
owned assets such as playing fields, parks, green
spaces, allotments, local shopping centres, car parks,
etc handed over to Bron Afon Community Housing Trust.
The decision on whether to transfer these assets will
affect all the residents of Torfaen who have paid for
these over the years, not just council tenants.
The people of Torfean should be very concerned and
demand to know all the facts concerning stock transfer
before any ballot is held.
See the case against stock transfer:
www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk

Oh to be a migrant
You could leave your family, friends, home. Risk your
life in search of a better one. You could survive,
unlike the 1000s that die crossing oceans & borders
around the world every year. You could enter the UK.
You could be imprisoned in one of its 12 privately run
detention centres, where you could be subject to
physical, mental, & racist abuse.
You could be deported back 'home' where you could face
war, torture, rape, repression, imprisonment - all of
which you could have been fleeing in the first place.
You could be working in degrading conditions on the
black market - cleaning, prostitution, waiting...
living a precarious, invisible existence, hiding in
the shadows, never sure, never knowing when you might
be seen & sent back.
You could finally have your story believed & allowed
to live in the UK. You could then be subject to racist
harassment from narrow minded bigots & a racist mass
media.
You could wonder whether it is possible for anyone to
live a free & dignified life in a world order run for
the rich by the rich.
You could say enough! Join all those who oppose
immigration controls, detention centres &
deportations. You could fight for a world were people
& planet are placed before profit!
A demonstration has been called by No Borders London
outside Harmondsworth & Colnbrook detention centres -
11.30 am Saturday 10 February 2007.
www.barbedwirebritain.org.uk

JUST A MINUTE
2006 heralded a new era for CAN, following the genius
idea that minutes be taken at the meetings & then
subsequently posted on the interweb. Apart from being
an efficient way of informing interested people of
what is going on, it is also an excellent opportunity
to obtain cheap laughs at the expense of friends,
comrades & forced acquaintances. The latter has
actually become the raison d’etre of the whole scheme,
but if one reads between the lines, it is in fact
still possible to find out about actions & events,
both locally & world-wide.
It has also been a form of outreach to people who
don’t feel comfortable /don’t like/are too busy to
come to meetings, a fact all too easily forgotten by
us meeting junkies.
The meetings are supposed to be facilitated on a
horizontal, everyone-gets-a-say, no-one hogs the
limelight basis, with a foundation of calm efficiency.
This hasn’t ever happened. The style so far has
wandered between aggressive ruthlessness &
unconsciousness, resulting in an atmosphere of
resignation & dread. It really is something to see &
we’re sure that if you came to a meeting it would be
something you could talk about for years to come.
The four main topics that we discuss are, (in no
particular order), Anti-Militarism, G8, ID Cards &
Climate Change. There’s always room for further
discussion of other subjects after these though.
Subjects covered so far have included free parties,
bats, badges, local authority housing, film nights,
the web site & home-made wine. Surely something there
for everyone.
The last section of the meeting is extremely rigid in
its structure, & takes the form of the question “Where
are we going for a pint then?”. We adjourn to a nearby
pub for an increase in belly laughs & to complain
about the how the meeting we were just at was. Come to
the dark side…
To have a look/chuckle at the minutes, go to
cardiff.revolt.org/about%20us/minutes.htm

Racist Cardiff cops in fake airport terror alert
Under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a police
officer has powers to detain for up to 9 hours
‘whether or not he has grounds for suspecting that a
person’ is a terrorist. Yes, you did read that right.
If a plod doesn’t like the look of you, he can keep
you locked up for hours on end, even if he hasn’t got
any real reason for it. This is what happened to Aisha
Pritchard & her Palestinian husband Sadi Elhaloul when
they were due to fly to Dubai for a 4 day break on
14th December. After going through the usual security
procedures, just before they boarded the plane they
were hauled off for ‘questioning’ by some boneheaded
special-branch redneck. After being released without
charge they’d missed their flight, & were left with 2
expensive non-refundable tickets. Ms Pritchard, from
Cardiff, said:
“Why was the luggage forwarded to the aeroplane, our
e-tickets issued & our names put through the computer
with no problems? Why was it only when we went to the
boarding gate & they looked at Sadi's passport, were
we questioned & detained?
Why, if we were a risk, was our luggage taken off the
plane one hour & 45 minutes after it had been put on?
We feel we were deliberately stopped from boarding the
plane, that it was racist & because we are Muslims. As
I am white, British & this is the country of all my
ancestors, I feel I am paying a price for marrying a
foreigner. What happened to freedom & rights?”
The answer is simple. Freedom & rights go out the
window when blood-thirsty, ambitious, mass-murdering
politicians pass draconian anti-terror laws that give
more & more powers to small-minded racist local pigs
who know they can get away with shitty abuses of power
like this on a day-to-day basis without reproach.
We’re edging towards a police state one nasty little
bit of legislation at a time, & what freedom we ever
had is being eroded more & more in the name of fake
‘democracy’ & ‘security’.

From our correspondent in... Palestine
Israel occupied the Palestinian territories of the
West Bank & the Gaza strip in the war of 1967 between
Israel & the Arab states. Since then Israel has
maintained its' military occupation, subjecting
Palestinians to Israeli military law (far harsher than
civilian law) & establishing settlements to take more
land for Israeli use thus fragmenting the territory of
any future Palestinian state, effectively making it
unworkable.
The occupation costs $12 billion annually. It would
not be sustainable without international support for
Israel. 80% of US foreign aid goes to Israel - $8
billion per year. In 2005 Israeli PM Ariel Sharon
orchestrated the 'disengagement' - withdrawal of all
9,000 Israeli settlers who lived in Gaza. But since
then, more than that number of new settlers have moved
into the West Bank, & the absence of Israelis living
in Gaza has left the Israeli army free to conduct
invasions & airstrikes, devastating Palestinian
infrastructure & killing people daily.
In 2003 Israel started building its' 'separation
barrier' (or 'apartheid wall') between Israel & the
West Bank. It cuts 25 kilometres into the West Bank in
some places, stretching around most settlements,
stealing land & water sources & separating Palestinian
villages from each other or their land. Some, like
Azzoun Atme, are completely surrounded by the wall
with residents only able to leave & enter their
village by passing through a terminal manned by
Israeli soldiers who turn them back at whim. Visiting
there was like visiting a prison - being searched &
scrutinised by soldiers behind bulletproof glass.
Israel justifies this wall, like all the other
brutalities & humiliations it subjects Palestinians
to, as necessary to protect Israel against suicide
bombings & attacks by home-made 'Qassam' rockets. But
it was obvious to me that the daily cruelty & violence
towards Palestinians is much more likely to create
frustration & rage which lead to violence. This logic
of preventing 'terrorism' also fails to account for
the route of the wall, stealing Palestinian land &
resources at every turn.
Much of my time in Palestine was during the olive
harvest. Olives are Palestine's largest product. Many
farmers have trouble accessing their land. It could be
on the 'wrong' side of the wall, or close to an
Israeli settlement. Israeli & foreign volunteers
accompany farmers to document & intervene in attacks
by Israeli settlers or harassment by the army. I saw
soldiers chasing a family off their land close to an
Israeli checkpoint. Another volunteer was with a
family who had a group of young Israeli settlers throw
rocks at them while soldiers stood by. This is typical
during olive harvest season.
I saw in Palestine a society crippled by forty years
of increasingly brutal Israeli occupation, & now
further suffering due to the severe economic crisis
caused by withdrawal of international aid to the
Palestinian Authority since Hamas was elected in
January (moral of that story: democracy is great, as
long as you elect who the USA & the EU want). Hope is
in short supply, as everyone struggles to survive.
Activism continues, but many have learned that
demonstrating very often leads to violent reprisals by
the Israeli army, & little if any positive change. But
as our neighbour Issa pointed out, in Palestine, daily
life IS resistance, & as long as he is there, he has
hope.
If you can see the injustice of this situation get
informed & involved! Info: eisoj.livejournal.com or
eisoj@care2.com
Check out: www.breakingthesilence.co.ilwww.palsolidarity.org & www.iwps.info

NHS: Not Free for All
While the NHS was set up to provide health care for
all based on need & not an ability to pay, this is not
the case for us all.
In April 2004 the Government tightened up restrictions
on free health care to ‘overseas visitors’, in
response to the perceived threat to the NHS of people
coming to the UK specifically for free medical
treatment. In fact, as pointed out by a 2006 Refugee
Council report, there is no evidence to indicate the
scale of such ‘health tourism’ & no specific examples
of people migrating to the UK specifically for free
health care. According to the Refugee Council, the
main factors affecting the choice of country where
individuals seek asylum is their language, family
connections or historical connections between their
country & the UK. Also, many asylum seekers simply do
not have a choice of where they go as increasingly
tighter border controls mean they may be smuggled into
a country. It therefore seems ridiculous to suggest
that asylum seekers come to the UK to receive free
health care, when what it is they have come for is to
escape war, torture & persecution.
Under Government legislation, refused asylum seekers
are not generally eligible for free hospital
treatment. While immediately necessary treatment in
order to save life can be given, the recovery of the
charge will be pursued as far as possible via
invoices, threatening letters & even debt collection
agencies. For example, a failed asylum seeker from
Romania who had stomach cancer was billed £1085 for an
operation & was refused radiotherapy until he could
pay. Failed asylum seekers have to pay for things like
treatments for cancer, diabetes & HIV & maternity
care.
With such legislation, the UK Government continues its
barbaric treatment of those seeking asylum & uses them
as scapegoats for its own failings.

no id cards!
Are you interested in being part of a group of people
in the Swansea/Carmarthen area committed to resisting
the national ID database? As part of the national
identity scheme, Swansea is set to be one of the sites
for an ID interrogation centre, where people in the
area will need to report to in order to be
interviewed, finger-printed & iris-scanned as part of
registration for the national ID database. One of the
first things the group can do is raise objections to
the ID centre through the planning system. Going
forward, the group can work on direct action
strategies for how best to support the resistance to
the national ID database, in conjunction with the work
of other Defy-ID groups & the campaigns organised by
No2ID. If you are interested, please contact Dominic
on dfrancocci2@yahoo.co.uk or 07718 968835.

BURBERRY CLOSURE
It was a miserable Christmas for the three hundred
workers at the Burberry factory in Treorchy, Rhondda.
Not only are they about to lose their jobs, but boss
Evelyn Suszko (responsible for Laura Ashley’s
ignominious withdrawal from Wales) rubbed salt into
wounds by awarding workers a scarf & £30 vouchers to
spend in the local Burberry shop, which happens to be
in London. Closure is set for the end of March 2007
due to Burberry’s decision to move production to China
where they can cut costs from £10 a polo shirt to £2
whilst maintaining a retail price of £80. Garments
have been manufactured at the factory for seventy
years. Demonstrations have been held outside
Burberry’s London outlet. As Burberry prepares to
announce increased profits of £200 million, a union
official has come up with an idea: rather than rip up
the £30 vouchers, he’s urged the workforce to spend
them in the London store & then burn any purchases
outside the shop as a mark of protest. Perhaps setting
fire to scarves & hats inside the shop would be more
effective?

In the early hours of Sunday 19th November, items were
stolen from a police van that was parked on Bryn Road,
Swansea. The police had been called to a large party
after complaints about noise levels were made by
neighbours . When the police went in to break up the
fun they left their van doors unlocked, allowing
people to get inside & steal a police coat & a police
notebook! What happened to“Keep it Safe Keep it Hidden
Keep it Locked” boys?

south wales Hunt Saboteurs Update
Since the start of main season South Wales Saboteurs
have been paying visits to the Cotswold Vale (our old
favourites), & as normal found them hunting illegally,
the bleating hunt were soon on the phone to the cops &
again as normal it was like old friends meeting,
"what! the antis are in the area? We'll be there now
so you can carry on killing".
South Wales Sabs have also had away days with the
Tedworth, (who were kept on the run all-day & packed
up early), South Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Curre &
the Pentrych on Boxing day.
Despite the crying & bleating by the Countryside
Alliance two years ago, & to the surprise of millions
of compassionate people (not), nothing has changed!
because they’re all still hunting as normal, so don't
be fooled (as if you could!), by media lies, get off
your backside & do something about it because the boys
in blue sure aren't!!

Gagged! can be found in all sorts of strange places
around south wales as well as every social centre &
radical bookshop in the UK. If there's not a pile of
gagged in the corner of your favourite pub, club,
cafe, hairdressers, tattooists, record, book, head or
anything else shop, get in touch so you can take a
pile in yourself! If you want to subscribe to the
e-version send an email to
gagged-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. More info online at
lists.riseup.net/www/info/gagged. 5000 copies are
printed per issue plus several thousand are read
online. We’re always in need of more help in
production & distribution. Send any articles,
pictures, reports, diary dates or offers to help to
gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

Cardiff Anarchist Network (CAN) is a collective of
people who want to pursue political demonstrations
through direct action. There is no membership, no
leaders, just like minded individuals. Email:
cardiffanarchists@riseup.net

Gwent Anarchists are like-minded individuals believing
in autonomy, respect & justice; against all forms of
exploitation & bigotry. Aiming to increase the
knowledge of & create a resistance to governments &
big business abusing people & the earth. Email:
gwentanarchists@yahoo.co.uk

RCT Anarchists is an autonomous group of free-thinking
individuals who reject capitalism & resist state
control through non-violent direct action. We work
towards the creation of a world based on justice &
freedom. Email: rctanarchists@riseup.net

South Wales Against the G8 (SWAG8) is a coalition of
groups wishing to mobilise against this year's G8
Summit both in Germany & in the UK. Email:
swageight@yahoo.co.uk

Peoples Autonomous Destination (PAD) aims to create
physical space in Cardiff for groups & individuals who
cannot or will not work within the constraints of
governmental or corporate control. Email:
thepad@riseup.net Phone: 07910973876 Web:
www.thepad.org.uk

The South Wales Anarchists could be an effective way to reach an un tapped youth. It would be great if they were on the team so to speak in reaching people about injustice.

When in High School I remember Anarchist Punk Rock bands spitting out songs about injustice in back yard gigs with people who were angry with the way things were in States. They were Anarchists bands. I remember they drew large crowds and they got the message out in effect by drawing large groups of people together with flyers around schools about the up coming punk bands. In getting they're message out they helped they're cause. Plus they raised muney by charging a dollar to get in. I liked going to the back yard gigs also because you got a good work out slam dancing in what is called the pit wich is a large number of people who would be slaming into eachother while the band screamed out they're message fists flying and such I would jump in with my long hair losing my glasses and shoes from getting slamed into. all very fun until you get popped in the nose. OUCH!!